In this issue I discuss how we make decisions about weather-related University closures.

Safety critical in making decision to close campus

As we near the end of winter, I wanted to discuss our philosophy for making decisions on weather-related University closures. The safety of our students, faculty and staff are critically important. It is also important that the University, as a public institution, remains fully staffed and open to the public. Students and their parents commit significant time and resources to their education, so it is also important that we keep classes running on schedule. We keep all of these factors in mind as we make decisions about canceling classes and closing the University due to inclement weather.

We had to make some of these decisions during the week of Feb. 16-20. As you may recall, the University was closed for President’s Day on Monday, Feb. 16. Due to snow, the roads were unsafe that day, but the roads were safe on Tuesday, Feb. 17. Thousands of students traveled hundreds of miles to be home for the long weekend, so we canceled classes on Tuesday to discourage students from traveling in unsafe conditions on Monday. Far fewer staff members traveled out of town for the weekend, so we decided not to close the University on Tuesday. If a particular staff member was out of town for the weekend or felt unsafe traveling to work, we encouraged them to contact their supervisor about taking leave.

We encountered more snow on the night of Tuesday, Feb. 17. Travel was unsafe the following morning, so we closed the University and canceled classes for Wednesday.

Board takes action on new programs, safety and football staff

Our board has been hard at work with two executive committee meetings and one regular meeting since the beginning of the year and I wanted to bring you up to date on their work. A few highlights from these meetings include:

The Board approved the addition of two new academic programs, a BS in theatre and a BS in dance. These new programs are designed to accommodate transfer students who find it difficult to meet the requirements for the BFA counterparts for these new programs.

The Board passed a resolution hiring Cannon Design, Inc. as the architect for the renovation of Meyer Library. Phase one of this work, which includes a new testing center and the relocation of the Trio offices, will be accomplished this summer. The Board also passed a resolution hiring Butler Rosenbury & Partners as the architect for the renovation of the dining center at Blair-Shannon House, which will also occur this summer

The Board approved the employment of Coach Dave Steckel and the contracts for his nine assistant coaches. We continue to hear universally positive feedback about the direction of the football program.

The Board had a lively discussion earlier this month about safety issues on campus. Don Clark, director of safety and transportation, gave a thorough report on the many proactive measures we take to maintain a safe campus for our students and the board has asked us to evaluate several other measures.

The Missouri Coordinating Board for Higher Education met earlier this month and approved four of our requests for new academic programs: Bachelor of General Studies, MA in teaching and learning, MS in cybersecurity, and EdSp in teacher leadership. I have already received multiple inquiries about the new Bachelor of General Studies program from working adults who have completed some college credit but not yet received a degree. I believe these new programs will continue to move the University and the state of Missouri on a path toward success.

Report summary

The value proposition involves two ingredients: quality and affordability. Evaluating Missouri State’s quality and affordability, Missouri State undoubtedly provides an extremely high value to its students and to the state of Missouri.

Missouri State takes pride in being the value option for higher education in the state of Missouri. But our student body has grown significantly and state appropriations have shrunk significantly. To continue providing quality education, the university has found creative ways to increase revenues through other sources, including enrollment growth (which results in increase gross receipts of tuition and fees, but also increased expenses), private support, student fees, and increased international student enrollment.

This situation is not sustainable. Unless public funding for the University changes in the near future, the University will have to make decisions that impact value through a reduction in quality or affordability. The consequences for the state’s workforce will be felt for decades to come. Accordingly, Missouri State respectfully requests that the state implement a strategy to increase operating funding for Missouri State University year-over-year.

Today I discuss the role staff members play in making Missouri State better.

My Ideas Program saves University thousands

We have so many talented staff members here at Missouri State. Staff often have a different view of the University’s routine processes than administrators because they work day in and day out in the operational units. Because of their different perspectives, staff are sometimes better positioned to develop process improvements and solutions.

Recognizing this, a few years ago we developed the My Ideas Program. This program allows staff to submit ideas for improvements to our way of doing business at the University. A committee evaluates the ideas and selects ideas for quarterly and annual prizes. The annual grand prize is awarded at our Staff Recognition Banquet and includes $1,000 in supplemental pay.

You might recall that we awarded a grand prize at this year’s Staff Recognition Banquet. The award-winning idea was for the pharmacy at Taylor Health and Wellness to do a quarterly inventory instead of a yearly inventory to increase the amount of refunds received on underutilized items. A truly brilliant idea by one of our talented staff members that we have successfully implemented.

I would encourage all of our staff to look for ways we can improve our processes and operations at Missouri State. If you have an idea, please submit it for consideration as part of the My Ideas Program.

Outlook promising for legislative goals

Released funds and proposed legislation allow the University to make headway toward goals.

Governor releases funds for occupational therapy program

I have some very exciting news—we have made significant progress on our second legislative priority for this year. The governor has released $620,000 of the $1.325 million withheld for our occupational therapy program in Springfield and health programs in West Plains. This allows us to move forward with these programs as planned.

Thank you to Governor Nixon and our other elected leaders for making this possible. It is an important first step. We will continue to work with the governor’s office and our legislators to obtain additional funds and be sure this appropriation is included in next year’s budget.

Proposed legislation could provide funds for capital projects

Another of our legislative priorities this year is to obtain a capital appropriation for four maintenance and repair projects. The Senate has passed SCR 9, one of the legislative vehicles that will get us closer to receiving this appropriation. The resolution will now move to the House of Representatives. We are in active discussions with our legislators to see that the House passes SCR 9.

Last week I testified to the House Appropriations in Higher Education Committee and Select Committee on Budget. I focused on education as the engine for economic development in Missouri. I also focused on Missouri’s low funding of higher education by comparison to neighboring states. I encouraged our lawmakers to take action and increase investment in higher education through Missouri’s performance and equity funding models.

We will continue to advocate for Missouri State in Jefferson City. As you interact with lawmakers, I would encourage you to do so as well.

Running for office demonstrates community engagement

Community engagement is the third pillar of our public affairs mission. Many members of our University community have taken extraordinary steps to volunteer their time and talents in the community.

Running for elected office is one form of community engagement. I am proud that a number of our staff have recently taken this step, including:

Jerry Compton, project manager in the office of planning, design and construction, is seeking reelection to represent Zone 3 on the Springfield City Council.

Ken McClure, vice president for administrative and information services, is running unopposed for General Seat D on the Springfield City Council.

Francine Pratt, executive director of the multicultural resource center and programs, is running for a seat on the Springfield Public Schools board.

Additionally, Carrie Tergin, a member of Missouri State’s Board of Governors, is running for mayor of Jefferson City.

I am confident that these candidates will represent Missouri State well in their community efforts. They are providing an incredible example to our students of what it means to put the public affairs mission into practice.

I encourage all of our students, faculty and staff to find volunteer opportunities. We can make a difference only when we engage in our community.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

]]>0Clif Smarthttp://blogs.missouristate.edu/president/?p=36742015-01-28T22:59:28Z2015-01-28T22:59:28ZMore than 90 percent of Missouri’s counties lack adequate access to health care professionals. At the same time, Missouri ranks among the top 20 states with citizens over the age of 65 who will require more medical care, and the number of elderly people with multiple chronic diseases is expected to double by 2030.

The need for physicians and other health care professionals is a startling — and growing — reality nationwide. Here in Missouri, that need is especially intense and immediate.

Thankfully, we have come a long way already toward addressing these realities. Health care organizations CoxHealth and Mercy Health have come together with the state’s two largest higher education institutions in unique partnerships designed to help alleviate this workforce shortage statewide.

Last year, the state legislature approved a combined $11.3 million to keep these projects moving, but unfortunately, we still await the delivery of that funding.

We understand that there are many pressing needs competing for these dollars, leaving our public officials with many difficult decisions to make. But we strongly believe that this is a wise use of taxpayer dollars that will have a tremendous impact on the state economy. In fact, this is exactly the type of priority that should rise to the top of the list. It will help us meet the urgent health care needs of thousands of Missourians, growing the economy with new capital investment and Missouri job creation along the way.

We look forward to when these pivotal funds from the state of Missouri are released to allow for the immediate implementation of these vital programs.

The governor included capital appropriations of revenue bond proceeds in his supplemental budget. These appropriations include four maintenance and repair projects at Missouri State totaling approximately $19 million: Ellis Hall, Missouri Hall, Hill Hall and life safety improvements on the West Plains campus.

The governor included an increase of 1.3 percent to operating appropriations for public higher education.

These highlights make clear that we are off and running on our legislative priorities for 2015. We appreciate the governor’s support for Missouri State’s capital projects. We also appreciate the governor’s willingness to include an operating appropriation increase for higher education.

We will use the governor’s executive budget as a starting point to articulate to our elected officials the need for a larger increase to our operating appropriation, the need to release withheld appropriations and the need to keep the $1,325,000 appropriation for our health initiative programs in the budget.

Missouri Public Affairs Hall of Fame

Last week we announced this year’s inductees to the Missouri Public Affairs Hall of Fame and I am excited about this second class of George Washington Carver, Eric Greitens and Simone Bernstein.

Carver worked to diversify crops in the South

George Washington Carver used innovative farming methods to convince Southern farmers to grow soil enriching crops like soybeans and peanuts. Carver came to public attention in 1921 with his captivating testimony before a U.S. Congress House committee debating a peanut tariff bill.

Former Navy SEAL authored this year’s Common Reader

Eric Greitens served as a United States Navy SEAL officer and deployed four times to Afghanistan, Southeast Asia, the Horn of Africa and Iraq. After returning from Iraq, Greitens donated his combat pay to found The Mission Continues, a national nonprofit organization that challenges veterans to serve in communities across America. His book “The Heart and the Fist” was read by all our freshmen this year.

Young humanitarian encourages teens to volunteer

Simone Bernstein and her brother launched VolunTEEN Nation, a national youth-led non-profit organization. More than 83,500 youth have found volunteer opportunities through VolunTEEN Nation, engaging in more than a million service hours.

Tickets available for induction banquet

We will honor this year’s inductees during our annual Public Affairs Conference in April. The induction ceremony and banquet will occur on April 17 at the White River Conference Room with a reception at 6 p.m. and the dinner and induction ceremony at 7 p.m. Tickets are $35.

I encourage all members of the University community to purchase tickets online and attend this event. You don’t want to miss this opportunity to interact with state and community leaders and honor our inductees.

Welcome back to campus. I hope you’re as excited as I am about the start of a new semester.

Priorities for upcoming legislative session

For me the start of the second semester always involves leading our teams as we advocate for University interests in Jefferson City. The 2015 legislative session has started. Our goals for this session include:

A capital appropriation for high-priority maintenance and repair projects.

An increase in our ongoing operating appropriation.

Releasing the $1,325,000 operating appropriation for fiscal year 2015 health program initiatives and protecting it from being withheld in future years.

Last Wednesday I met with a number of legislators and government officials at the Governor’s Prayer Breakfast in Jefferson City. I am confident that many of our elected leaders appreciate the great things we are doing at Missouri State and will work with us to achieve our legislative goals this session.

Listen to State of the State address

The Governor will give his State of the State address at 7 p.m. Jan. 21. You can live stream the address at www.mo.gov. At that time we will know more about his recommended appropriations for fiscal year 2016.

We have already scheduled our first executive budget committee meeting for this year, and we will be prepared to respond to the Governor’s appropriation recommendations and begin preparation of our budget.

Stay tuned for more information about state appropriations and our progress in achieving our legislative goals.